


So Hold Me Close

by Idhren15



Series: Idhren's Voltron Oneshots [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, Fluff fluff and more fluff, Gen, Lots of cuddles, Paladins cuddle, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Love, Purring Keith (Voltron), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Touch-Starved Keith (Voltron), so much fluff it's practically a marshmallow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 03:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17779541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idhren15/pseuds/Idhren15
Summary: Keith was never one to admit he wanted physical contact, but a few accidental stays in his friend's rooms started to make it clear to them.Or: Five times Keith cuddled with the paladins, and one time they cuddled with him.Spreading the platonic love this Valentines!





	So Hold Me Close

**Author's Note:**

> Today is gonna be full of romance, and that's fine for some people, but not for others...  
> So here I am, throwing some good old platonic love into the mix! 
> 
> Lots of fluff and cuddles, mainly Keith centric but everyone's there.  
> I didn't write this to be shippy, but if you want to read it that way, go ahead.

The first paladin Keith found himself spending the night with was Shiro.

He hadn't intended it to be the case, of course, his inability to sleep leaving him wandering around the castle halls at antisocial hours. Yesterday's battle had put an incredible strain on him physically, and he'd never admit it but his arm was on _fire_ from being slammed into his lion's dashboard.

So he found himself at the one place he crawled to when he found himself injured back on Earth.

Shiro's room.

Keith raised his hand to knock, then thought otherwise and turned to leave. It was stupid. He wasn't a kid anymore, he was perfectly capable of caring for himself.

But part of him _wanted_ to see Shiro, wanted to have someone fuss over him and actually _care._

So he turned back and knocked, before he could think better of it.

Shiro answered the door sleepily, his frown turning into a light smile when he saw who it was. "Keith?"

The younger shifted uncomfortably, no longer certain what to do, but Shiro recognised that look on his friend's face.

"Come in," Shiro said, stepping aside, and Keith shuffled into his room, awkwardly perching on the edge of Shiro's bed.

"I hurt my arm," he blurted out, swinging his legs restlessly.

Shiro sat down beside him, carefully helping Keith slip his jacket off so he could inspect the damage. The skin from Keith's wrist to elbow was a mottled mess of purple and red, large bruises blossoming from what had to be a very painful injury. Keith tensed, half expecting Shiro to get cross at him, but the latter did the opposite. He took a cream of altean make and gently rubbed it over Keith's bruises, the cool ointment immediately soothing.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Shiro asked.

Keith shrugged. "I thought it was okay," he mumbled.

Shiro sighed and set the cream aside, before sitting up on the bed, his human arm tentatively reaching for Keith.

"Is it okay if I...?"

Keith nodded, and Shiro gently pulled his friend close, the younger slumping as soon as they made contact. Keith rested his head against Shiro's chest, the security of his older brother-figure finally letting the anxieties of the day fade away, and he drifted off to sleep.

 

When he woke, Keith was mortified that he'd spent the night in Shiro's room and quickly untangled himself from the older man's hold, seizing his jacket and racing from the room only minutes after he'd woken.

If Shiro thought his sudden disappearance weird, he never brought it up.

* * *

 

The second paladin was Pidge, and that had been after another failed attempt to sleep. Again Keith wandered the castle halls, but he wasn't injured this time so his feet didn't take him to Shiro's room. Instead, he somehow found himself in the Green Lion's hangar, where another being was also awake.

Pidge.

She sat on her laptop, her face illuminated by the screen, tapping away at some sort of program or update or another tech thing that Keith didn't quite understand. She didn't noticed his presence, at first, and he considered leaving, but she happened to glance up at that moment.

"Keith, hey," she greeted, voice heavy with exhaustion.

He took that as an invitation to walk over "Why are you still awake?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Can't sleep. I'm trying to improve Green's cloaking, and it's bugging me."

"Maybe you should sleep," Keith suggested, "Look at it in the morning with a fresh head."

She cocked her head and stared at him through her glasses. "Hypocrite."

Keith sighed, and sat on the floor beside her, resting his head against Green's leg. "True."

Pidge grunted slightly in response and resumed her typing, the small computer noises surprisingly soothing. Keith yawned after about twenty minutes, and Pidge chuckled, setting her laptop aside.

"Tired?"

"Mhmm."

"You're right. I should probably look at it in the morning," Pidge admitted, scooting back so she was resting against him. Keith stiffened at the contact, but soon relaxed, exhaustion kicking in.

"We should probably sleep," she continued.

"Yeah."

"I can't be bothered to move."

"Me neither," he confessed, and Pidge suddenly turned and snuggled into his lap. He dropped his arm in surprise, resting it against her, finding the physical contact strangely comforting, and closed his eyes.

 

When he opened them again, Pidge was back on her laptop, and the lights were back on in the castle. "Morning, sleepyhead," she grinned, and Keith blushed, rubbing his stiff neck.

"Don't speak of this to _anyone_ ," he grumbled.  
Pidge's eyes sparkled. "Don't worry, emo boy. Your secret's safe with me."

* * *

 

The third time, Keith found himself in the company of someone he'd rather not be with.

Lance.

The blue paladin had gone on for _days_ about Keith's complexion, and he'd finally agreed to having a face mask- whatever in the universe _that_ was.

Turned out it was a bunch of smelly slop rubbed on his face that he couldn't wash off for a couple of hours, so Lance had decided to mess with Keith's hair as well. He'd suggested a hair cut, but Keith's snarl quickly made him back away from that, settling for washing and brushing it instead.

Keith didn't want to relax. This was Lance, the guy who just wouldn't _shut up,_ and he'd much rather be training or flying or doing something that wasn't this pointless health-and-beauty thing.

But then Lance started massaging his head, and he _melted._ Quiznak, it was so _nice_ to have someone rub his head like that, and he felt his body go limp, eyes closing in bliss.

Lance chuckled. "Man, you really are a space cat," he commented, and Keith wanted to scowl but he was actually happy and relaxed.

"Shut up," he managed to grumble, eliciting another chuckle from the Cuban.

"I didn't know you liked this so much," Lance commented, "But then, cats love head rubs and you are basically a space cat."

"I'm not a space cat."

"Galra are space cats, you're part galra, so you're also a space cat," Lance responded rather smugly. Keith opened one eye and tilted his head lazily to look at Lance.

"Really?"

"Yes," he grinned, "Now shush, and let me take care of this mullet of yours."

"How do you know so much about this?" Keith asked, ignoring Lance's instruction.

"I have sisters and nieces. Hair and beauty was pretty hard to avoid," Lance explained, his tone light but Keith could still sense the longing.

"As long as you don't braid it or anything," Keith muttered, and Lance froze.

"Did you just...?"

Keith craned his head to glare at Lance, and the blue paladin just grinned.

"Space cat Keith is the best," he quipped, resuming the head massage, and Keith melted all over again, his eyes closing in satisfaction.

 

The sound of light snoring and the absence of soothing pressure on his head caused him to prise his eyes open, shock and embarrassment coursing through him as he realised he was lying on his side, cheek pressed against a warm pair of jeans.

_Oh, quiznak._

He'd fallen asleep on _Lance._

Face flushing, he struggled to sit up without disturbing the now-sleeping Cuban, hurriedly rubbing the dried face mask off before stumbling out of the room, praying that Lance never mentioned that incident to anyone.

* * *

 

The fourth time was with the princess, and neither of them had seen it coming. Keith was up late, but it wasn't that late for him, really, and he just happened to be walking past Allura's room when a choked sob stopped him in his tracks. Part of him was desperate to get to his bed- he was actually _tired_ , and confident he'd get in a decent few hours- but he couldn't ignore the muffled crying.

He'd cried alone too many times; he didn't want anyone to feel like that.

So he pushed aside his exhaustion and knocked on the door. "Allura?"

The crying stopped, and she opened the door a crack. "What is it, I-"

He forced the door open and embraced her, cutting her off midsentence. Allura froze, then crumpled, grabbing his shirt as she cried into his shoulder. He rubbed her back soothingly, guiding them over to her bed, and gently sat down, Allura almost falling into his lap.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, breaking the embrace and shuffling back, rubbing at her red eyes. Then she did a double take, as if realising who it was in her room. "Keith?"

He shifted awkwardly. "Um, I heard you, and no one should have to be upset alone, so, uh, yeah," he said lamely.

Allura's expression softened. "Thank you," she whispered, flopping back against the cushions on her bed. He sensed she didn't want to talk about it, and didn't know if he should stay or leave, feeling increasingly awkward. Allura made the decision for him, patting the duvet beside her, so he kicked off his shoes and lay down, being careful to keep his distance. The princess huffed and scooted closer, resting her head on his chest.

"I don't want to be alone tonight," she murmured, "I had a bad dream, and I... I miss him."

Keith knew exactly who she was referring to.

"I miss my dad as well," he whispered, staring up at the intricate patterns on the ceiling above the bed.

Allura sighed and curled up a little more, her breathing growing quieter as she drifted into hopefully better dreams. Keith let himself drift as well, succumbing to the tiredness in his body.

 

In the morning, he tried to slip out unnoticed, but Allura stirred.

"Keith?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Sorry-" he started, but she cut him off.

"Thank you for staying," she breathed, and he smiled slightly.

"Just don't mention this to Lance, okay?" he half-joked, and the princess grinned.

* * *

 

The fifth time, Keith woke from a nightmare, gasping for breath and desperate for a drink. He bolted for the kitchen, mechanically seizing a glass and pouring some juice before freezing up, registering that he wasn't the only one in the room. Hunk was up, using the altean equivalent of frosting to decorate some cakes.

"Oh, hello, Keith," the yellow paladin greeted, and Keith's brain struggled to make sense of the sight before him. It was the middle of the night...why was Hunk baking? 

"Uh," he grunted, staring at the frosting.

"I dreamed of using safteer extract as a flavouring and decided to try it," Hunk said, as if that was some sort of explanation. Keith only blinked in response. He had no idea what 'safteer' was, and his mind was still traumatised from the nightmare.

"I'm almost done," Hunk added, his face softening as he realised Keith wasn't all there. "... Keith? You okay?"

 _Yes_ , he wanted to say, but he shook his head.  
Immediately Hunk set down the utensils and tugged off his apron, walking around the counter to stand in front of Keith. "What's wrong?"

"Nightmare," he mumbled, staring at the ground.

Something warm and soft touched him, and he blinked, taking a second to realise that Hunk was hugging him. Keith sank into the embrace, his eyes growing moist, much to his annoyance.

"Sorry," he murmured into the larger paladin's chest.

"It's okay, Keith. You're safe, it was just a nightmare," Hunk said gently, and Keith dimly realised that he was trying to comfort him.

_Bless Hunk and his big heart._

They were moving then, though Hunk didn't remove his arms from Keith, and the smaller one noted that they were now seated on the small couch in the kitchen.

"Feeling better?" Hunk asked, and Keith nodded, not wanting to move. Quiznak, Hunk was like some sort of giant teddy bear, and he did _not_ want to let go.

So he didn't.

 

Keith woke up, pressed against something soft, and the night's events flooded back to him. The nightmare. The kitchen. _Hunk._

The yellow paladin was out for the count, and Keith wriggled out from his embrace, slipping back to his room before the other paladins would come in for breakfast, his cheeks burning slightly from the embarrassment of it all.

* * *

 

Keith was the only one on the training deck, and the castle's occupants had gathered in the lounge.

"Anyone notice how Keith's gotten a bit more, well, intimate?" Hunk asked.

"Yeah, actually," Lance said, "He fell asleep on me the other day."

"I dozed off with him in Green's hangar," Pidge admitted.

"He fell asleep on me too," Shiro said.

Allura blushed slightly. "He's slept in my room, too," she confessed, quickly adding, "There was nothing between us, though! I was a little upset, he happened to be passing, and I fell asleep."

"We should probably do something about this," Shiro pointed out, "I thought it was a one-off thing, but if Keith's been seeking out you guys too..."

"I know!" Lance exclaimed, "We should have a sleepover!"

The paladins grinned at each other, rushing off to get blankets and pillows to turn to lounge into a den. Allura stayed behind, confused, but Shiro quickly explained the concept to her, and soon she was off as well, yelling back something about super-large cushions they kept for alien visitors.

 

When Keith entered the lounge that evening, he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the sight before him. Blankets and pillows covered the room, the highest volume in the centre, where the paladins were huddled in their brightly coloured pyjamas.

"Keith! Get over here!" Pidge yelled.

"Boots and jacket off first though, mister!" Lance added.

Keith sighed but obeyed, setting his boots and jacket aside before clambering down into the blanket nest. Immediately Pidge snuggled up to him, and Lance scooted over, resting his head in Keith's lap.

"Payback for when you fell asleep on me," the blue paladin grinned, and Keith couldn't help but smile. Hunk, Shiro and Allura all snuggled near them as well, some sort of silent communication passing through them. Keith suspected word of his _embarrassing_ nighttime slip-ups had leaked out, but the warmth and security of all his friends around him was enough to dispel the mortification he would've otherwise felt.

Pidge eased his head into her lap, massaging it, and he both cursed and thanked Lance as he melted, a light rumble emitting from his chest. Everyone apart from Pidge froze, and Lance let out a delighted laugh as Keith's face burned.

"Space cat," he squeaked, and the others all chuckled.

Keith must've dozed off, because when he awoke, his head was pressed against Pidge's stomach, her hands still tangled in his hair. The green paladin was resting against Hunk, and Shiro was snuggled on the other side of the yellow paladin, his head and arm draped over Hunk's torso. Lance's head was in Keith's lap, and Allura snuggled against the blue paladin's chest, her legs lying over Hunk's.

Keith grinned and the strange vibrations in his chest resumed; he would _never_ let them call it 'purring'. In that moment it really didn't matter, because he was truly _happy,_ surrounded by those he loved.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fluffiest thing I've written, honestly.
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> ^-^


End file.
